Brazil is trapped in a vicious cycle of fires and floods. Earlier this year, the state of Rio Grande do Sul was submerged in one of the largest tropical storms in its history. Just a few months later, a blanket of smoke swept its way over most of Brazil, emanating from roaring fires in the Amazon. Yet in the run up to municipal elections in October, the urgency of climate change occupied less space in electoral debates than Hamas in the Middle East and concern over Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
A Datafolha survey from July shows that 77 per cent of Brazilians believe that climate change is mainly caused by human actions, while 20 per cent claim that rising temperatures are just a natural oscillation. A vocal segment of politicians in Brazil are climate change deniers. They speak for these 20 per cent.
